Add the Yamazaki, Strega, Amaro Nonino, lemon juice, honey syrup and Peychaud’s bitters to a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until well chilled. Rinse a chilled coupe with Peat Monster (or other peaty scotch). Strain the shaker contents into the coupe. Garnish with a flamed lemon twist.

Notes:

Citrus, whiskey and smoke on the nose. Light alcohol, honey and herbs great the palate up front. Lemon jumps in a little, less than you’d expect, then a whiskey tinged smoke takes hold. The finish reverts to a lighter honey smoked citrus. This one is so light and refrsshingit will leave you begging for more. A tasty, easygoing, whiskey based summer drink.

History:

As a fan of Peat Monster scotch, I particularly enjoy rinsing glasses with it to add some smoke to my cocktails (in case you couldn’t tell). While another peated scotch, like Laphroaig, would work, I really enjoy the flavor of Peat Monster. This one is inspired by another drink that uses my favorite peaty scotch rinse…

Osakan Summer is based on/inspired by a drink by Adam Bernbach of Proof in DC, called Sorry, Konishi. I had this one a while back (before there was The Straight Up) and had been toying with recreating something similar in some form or another ever since.

If memory serves, Sorry, Konishi had Yamazaki, Galliano, honey syrup, lemon juice and Peychaud’s bitters with a Peat Monster rinse. I, unfortunately, never got the ratios. I went back to Proof to try it again after starting The Straight Up, in hopes of featuring it, but unfortunately the drink was off the menu and to top it off they were out of Yamazaki.

Looking to do something similar, I took what I remembered about the drink and went to experimenting. I really enjoy the lighter flavor of the JapaneseWhisky and of course the smokey Peat Monster rinse. I thought Strega and Amaro Nonino would be a nice touch, taking the place of Galliano.

I also like this one with Meyerlemon juice, which gives a bit of an orangey flavor. That being said a regular lemon would also do just fine. I stuck with the Peychaud’s bitters as it adds some nice texture and complexity, without overbearing the lighter notes in the drink.

Osakan Summer makes a flavorful yet easygoing summer sipper that I’m sure you will enjoy. On a side note, if you make it to DC, check out Proof for some great cocktails, not to mention that their food is top notch.

[…] glad it did as Strega is another tasty herbal liqueur worth adding to your collection. Check out my Osakan Summer for a whiskey sourish drink with Strega or Amaro Digestivo for a delicious after dinner treat. […]